Monday, September 21, 2015

[Planetfall] Troop carriers

Progress has been slow around here lately, as usual, but somehow I've found the time to complete my two <name> APCs from the Recon Helix!

I've also slapped some significant amount of paint on the Infantry supposed to ride inside, but more on that later...

As always, I've experimented a little bit with the painting process on these ones, I must say that I'm much more please with the result than normally. The gradients, both on the turquoise and the green parts, are a lot finer than usual, giving a smoother blend.
I'd also argue that the bone in the middle works better with the zenithal-ish highlights I've used.
All in all, I'm very pleased, and will probably keep this way as default in the future.
One of the main changes from my previous way of painting was the use of a different shade. Instead of using pure Army Painters Blue Tone, I've mixed together my own, by pouring P3 Turquoise Ink and AP Blue Tone into a almost empty bottle of VMC Glaze Medium.
The effect on a simple base coat of VGC Hawk Turquoise can be seen on the Interceptors to the right, compared to only base coated on the left.
Instead of darkening the turquoise to a dark blue, it merely shades, enabling a subtle highlight with the base colour. An additional benefit is that the end result is more turquoise and less blue, a typical win-win.
I'll have to reverse engineer a more detailed recipe later, but if I recall correctly it was something like 4:3:1 of Blue Tone:Turquoise Ink:Medium, with water added to get a good flow.